The function of "museum" was integrated into the school when a collection of ten paintings was donated by Theodore Thieme in 1921.

[1] By 1949, the B. Paul Mossman Home at 1202 West Wayne Street in downtown Fort Wayne was donated to the museum, giving the museum an entire facility for the first time in its history to showcase exhibitions and collections.

[3] After the museum's move in 1984, the B. Paul Mossman Home was converted back to a private residence.

The current facility of the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, designed by architect Walter Netsch of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, encompasses 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2) and includes three separate wings: Exhibition/Collection, Education/Administration, and the Auditorium, with an enclosed atrium linking the three wings in the center of the museum.

It was announced in May 2008 that the museum would add 10,000 square feet (930 m2) more exhibition space, a bistro, 18,000-volume library, expanded gift shop, and K–12 learning center, along with a complete refurbishment in a $7.5 million capital campaign, all of which was completed by spring 2010.